Which software do I need?

Hi,

I'm trying to figure out if one of these softwares will solve my problem:

Partition Manager Free Edition

and/or

Backup & Recovery 2011 (Advanced) Free

Or do I need both of them? Or do I need one or more of the upgrade versions?

My laptop has become pretty unstable so I need to restore it to factory condition and reinstall all the software that I use (Dragon, Lexmark, Norton, Dropbox, etc, etc.) and then all my data files. But my computer gets unstable a lot (Dragon does this) so this time I want to partition the hard drive and put my operating system and all my software on one partition and then put all my data files on another partition. And then create a back up image of the operating system/software programs onto my external hard drive. That way whenever things get buggy, I can just transfer my backup image to the computer and start from fresh without disturbing the partition that has my data files.

I can't figure out if I need one or both of these softwares to do that and if they will provide the kind of fix I'm looking for. I feel like the second option provides both components (partitioning and disc imaging) but I'm not sure.

Could have happened at a worse time, but this isn't a great time for it.

Thanks so much!!!
Janice

 

Hi, thought I would try again - hoping someone can help me figure out which software I need for the above question. Desperate plea here as I'm waiting to restore my (crashed) computer to factory conditions so that I can do it right this time with partition software, disc images, etc.

Many thank you's!!!

 

Is there any harm in using both softwares? The first to create the partitions, the second to create the disc images onto an external harddrive? And then if there's a future problem with the computer, will I be able to restore using the image from the external harddrive?

And I'm trying to figure out at what stage I should install the partition software - is it just after I do the restore to factory condition?


Janice

 

I'm a relatively new Paragon user and I am not familiar with the idiosyncrasies of the various versions but the description of the Backup & Recovery 2011 free says it does partitioning.

My personal preference for setting up your machine given your stability issues would definitely be to keep your data on a different partition. In fact this is my way of working regardless of stability. I don't use any of the Windows "My Documents" type folders for my data but I believe these can be moved to a different partition if you do use them.

Does your factory reset allow any partitioning? That would make life simpler if it does.

Don't forget to backup all your important data files first!

I would first try:

Reset your system to the factory default (assume no partitioning done)
Install Paragon B&R Free
Create Recovery CD with Paragon

Create image of C with Paragon on an external USB drive. I'd try this using the Recovery CD you made because if it works with your PC on create there is a great chance it will work on recovery as well. The CD is Linux based and sometimes there are driver issues which will cause a recovery to fail. For good measure you can also make an image within Windows using Paragon.

This is where I am not totally confident about the program's capabilities.

Boot the Paragon Recovery CD and restore the archive you created above. I think you can adjust the size of the partition on the restoration but you may need to go into the "advanced mode" to see the adjustment screen (or maybe not). If you can resize C to a smaller value then you will probably be left with unallocated space that you can setup as your data partition. Windows Disk Management can set this up for you once you get running again.

The other way is to do the partition first however Paragon does that and then restore the C drive to the partition. Hopefully the free version will fit C into it. Note that it has to be large enough to accommodate the size of the used sectors in C.

Sorry this is a bit vague but plan on reading the Paragon User Guide before you start. It has good info in it but it isn't always easy to understand exactly what they are getting at and it is written more of a reference than a "how to" manual.

Perhaps one of the more experienced Paragon users may jump in and provide more guidance.

If the Paragon Rescue CD doesn't work on your system you will have to buy the paid version which provides a WinPE based recovery environment. This is Windows based and usually tends not to suffer from hardware incompatibility issues. It also has the facility to load any extra drivers but these aren't usually needed unless you have very new hardware - I think USB3 drivers need to be loaded if you are using it.

Whatever you do, backup your data files first, but you know that.

 

Thank you seekforever, so kind of you to put in all this detailed information. I think than I can handle this. Am going to try to see as you suggest first whether factory restall process will allow me to partition and then if not, go with the rest of the steps you suggested. I'll let you know when I'm successful!

Best to you,
Janice